#chuu kicked from loona

[yjheart]

BOYCOTT BBC

loona is 12. bbcs words against chuu are defamation and slanderous. BBC is the abuser. NOT chuu. it was NEVER chuu. kim jiwoo has been at the hands of their abuse since she was SIXTEEN.

BOYCOTTING BBC INCLUDES BOYCOTTING LOONA CONTENT. heres how to boycott:

- avoid streaming music videos / songs on ANY platform (spotify, apple music, youtube, etc.)

- delete superstar loona

- do not buy ANY merchandise

i also strongly reccomend doing this for other BBC artists to avoid giving BBC ANY support.

CHUUJUSTICE on TWITTER is a team of Orbits hoping to start a boycott of BBC in protest of the wrongful removal of Chuu.

A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF HOW BBC ABUSE LOONA & THEIR STAFF + PROOF

thank you to sirenyves for this compilation.

BBC has underpaid their staffs, starved their artists, overworked everyone, etc. for a company that "cares" about their staffs state and wants to prevent them from being abused, they sure seem to be keen on being the abuser.

BBC CLAIMING CHUU IS ABUSIVE HAS BEEN CONTERCLAIMED BY MANY PEOPLE. here are some accounts from people who have worked with chuu, and their support for her.

1. FORMER CHUU CAN DO IT WRITER + ANOTHER

2. ANON ON DCINSIDE

3. PHOTOGRAPHER WHO WORKED WITH LOONA

4. ANON JOBKOREA EMPLOYEE

and finally; PLEASE SUPPORT CHUU.

as stated by hyunjin on fab:

"Chuu unnie's heart is probably hurting more than anyone's right now. Please root for & love her lots.."

chuu is suffering the most. please give her the love, support, and courage she needs.

[infizero]

THE REST OF LOONA HAVE FINALLY WON THEIR LAWSUITS AGAINST BBC LETS GOOOOOOO YHEYRE FREE THEYRE ALL FINALLY FREEEEEE

[lightstar789]

WHAT IF I MURDERED SOMEONE TODAY 😀

[angryorbit]

A list of abuse that FIFTY FIFTY, the Kpop girl group behind "Cupid", was subjected too by their company ATTRAKT and CEO Jeon Hongjun:

FIFTY FIFTY were under constant surveilance by CCTV

FIFTY FIFTY had daily BMI checks

FIFTY FIFTY were not given proper meals

When the parents of the members brought them food, the food was thrown out and the members were insulted

One of the members ran away from the company due to stress, had multiple panic attacks, fainted, and woke up with a ventilator

FIFTY FIFTY members had panic attacks often

Whilst making around $4.5 million in US markets, the company forced FIFTY FIFTY to pay THEM $2.2 million.

CEO Jeon Hongjun lied about selling his car and house to support the group

CEO Jeon Hongjun lied about getting FIFTY FIFTY a dorm in an expensive part of Seoul

FIFTY FIFTY have filed criminal charges against CEO Jeon Hongjun for fraud

The staff of ATTRAKT have said that the 8 billion won invested in the group was not used for the group. Their debut album cost 1 billion won, and Cupid 1.25 billion won. The other 5.5 billion won has not been seen.

ATTRAKT has disclosed Aran's surgery without consent

EDIT: ADDED INFO BELOW

For 12 out of 33 months, the company gave FIFTY FIFTY zero money to pay for food. For the months that ATTRAKT did provide FIFTY FIFTY with meals, they spent $41 a month.

It was often the managers that brought FIFTY FIFTY food and not ATTRAKT, so ATTRAKT bared no expense.

It took NUTRITIONISTS AND HEALTH EXPERTS to complain before ATTRAKT allowed FIFTY FIFTY to eat at a nearby salad shop, but were only allowed to spend around $8.21 a day.

The CCTV surrounded almost all corners of their dorms and were personally viewable in CEO Jeon Hongjuns office.

The diet prepared by the agency only consisted of chicken and butter coffee.

Translated quote from a health trainer in 2021: "Lack of protein and vegetables. Please provide breakfast. Insufficient supply of nutrients, essential nutrients must be consumed. Konjac jelly should be used as a snack, not as a meal replacement."

It was not until July of 2022 that a nutritionist was consulted ONCE.

ATTRAKT claims they spent around 750 dollars a month on meals, but this includes the meals of multiple trainees, photographers and a fifth member that was supposed to debut in the group.

Translated quote from FIFTY FIFTY's legal representative: "The agency only provided each member with a menu, but most of the members took care of purchasing ingredients, cooking and eating, and reported to the company using photos."

There is revenue from FIFTY FIFTY's first album, but it was put directly into another company instead of ATTRAKT so they can avoid taxes.

ATTRAKT is releasing a remix of Cupid featuring Sabrina Carpenter mid lawsuit: it can be assumed this was done for the same reason Blockberry Creative announced a LOONA album after kicking out Chuu.

- Please do not send hate to Sabrina Carpenter and direct any negativity to the company

WE STAND WITH FIFTY FIFTY.

[queertwilight]

Under threat from my sister @awkwardlysarah I have been forced to return to this hellsite in the middle of a delirious long day to post what she has informed me is the best idea she has ever had. please share and show her some love so that she thinks i’m a cool older sister and not just a tired grad student with a nostalgic affection for this series. Seriously she’s really excited about this post and I love her so make her happy or else :) Without further ado:

The Cullens as Different K-Pop Fans

Disclaimer: this is all my @awkwardlysarah head canons not my sister’s @queertwilight. I decided to combine my love for K-pop with my sister’s love for twilight. My qualifications are that I’ve been listening to K-pop for 6 years, so I kinda know a lot. Also no hate to any of the artists mentioned, you can have your own opinions and I’ll have mine. Silly little post enjoy!

Edward:

-exclusively listens to K-drama OST’s

-mainly for the instrumental and piano

-listens to the Best KDRAMA OST: of all time playlist and ranks them by instrumental

-secretly does watch K-dramas but claims its to help “appreciate” the music, has cried to almost every drama he’s seen

-Does not understand the appeal of K-Pop groups, prefers what he believes to be the classics

-Though, Alice once showed him RM’s album Mono and is now his biggest fan

-“No, you don’t understand guys if I met Namjoon we would get along perfectly. We could go on a museum date together and talk about life.”

-Loves RM’s newest release Indigo and locked himself in his room to reflect on the lyrics in the album.

-He too, mourns the loss (of what would have been) his 20’s

Rosalie:

-she is such a baddie with her K-pop taste

-mainly a 2nd gen girl group stan, but dips her toes in 4th gen (mainly AESPA) because Emmett showed her a couple groups

-also loves soloists-mainly IU and BIBI and DPR

-BIGGEST 2NE1 and 4minute stan there is (prays on YG and Cube’s downfall)

-if the songs are about being bad bitches then Rosalie is listening to them

-she can low key body any rap by CL

-has her more mellow moments when listening to Girl’s Generation and IU

-overall supports her girlies

-will fight trolls online that try to discredit any of the girls’ careers (

-has made multiple accounts deactivate because she proved them so wrong they could not show their faces online again

Emmett:

-OH BOY

-when Emmett discovered K-pop it was like opening up a portal that could no longer be closed

-he had casually stanned 3rd gen groups (since Alice listened to them)

-but then he found LOONA and other girl groups

-Rosalie low key curses this day btw

-became the biggest Orbit and Chuu stan

-“Emmett we have to go save Bella, she’s in danger.”

“Idk, maybe if she stanned LOONA this wouldn’t have happened.”

-is a photo card collector (Rosalie put a stop to this after he spent 3K on a Chuu broadcast photo card and getting scammed trying to buy other pcs)

-when I tell you he was so devastated that Chuu was kicked out of LOONA

-he didn’t have the strength to go hunting for DAYS

-helped boycott BlockBerry Creative #freeLOONA

-he does also dabble in boy groups; mainly Enhypen because he thinks they are actual vampires. (No one tell him it is just a concept it would break his heart, he streamed Bite Me for days because he felt SO seen).

Alice:

-MY MULTISTAN QUEEN!!!

-she knows everything about every group (obvi) and knows which groups are unproblematic

-runs an undercover KPOPpredictions twitter account where all her visions go

-Loves groups mainly for lore/storyline purposes

-like TXT, BTS, ENHYPEN, ATEEZ, EXO, etc. she LOVES a good storyline

-does theories on her main stan blogs about what she believes the MVs mean for the overall story

-always has people commenting on her theories about how right she is.

-is also a K-pop dance/lifestlye influencer

-give her 10 minutes and she WILL know the entire dance-will upload and edit it almost instantly

-has been featured in KCON dream stages and has been able to dance alongside some of her fav groups

-love planning her outfits for concerts and giving people inspiration on her social media platforms

“You need help coming up with vampire themed outfits for Enhypen’s upcoming concert, say no more I’ve got just the looks for you!”

Jasper:

-some of y’all may be a bit mad about this one…

-he’s the problematic K-pop stan

-like his playlist is CONTROVERSIAL

-liked sticker when it first released (believed the flute is what tied it together)

-low key a Jay Park stan on main

-…and a super junior apologist

(what did you expect he literally was a confederate solider)

-If a group has a cowboy concept he will be all over it tho, “takes me back to my roots.”

-will start shit online because he knows in the end he can control their emotions

-loves those unpopular k-pop opinion videos

-Alice does try to get him away from the problematic side of K-pop and it does kinda work, but like quitting human blood it takes him some time

-not a big stan, he’s kinda in it for the drama and to be an instigator

[tctaleclipse]

THE SOUND OF ECLIPSE 𓂃 ⋆⭒˚｡

tw: mentions of overworking, mistreatment, the loona situation.

ECLIPSE made their debut on march 20th, 2022 under blockberry creative with the intent of being the younger brother group of loona. their first album would be entitled GENESIS with the title track GIVE AND TAKE. this is would be the first of ECLIPSE’s lunar eclipses.

seeing the success of the group, blockberry began to pump out comebacks for the group. fans speculated that they knew that loona were planning to leave and ECLIPSE were their last resort.

ECLIPSE would have their first comeback on july 14th, 2022 with the title track OUR SUMMER. an example of their solar eclipse with a brighter concept. they would have their next comeback, a lunar eclipse with the song JUNGLE on october 25th, 2022.

fans began to notice how drained the members were getting. when they weren’t performing they were on multiple variety shows, a bunch of interviews, it seemed exhausting just from watching them.

it would be a month before chuu would be removed from loona and how bbc was treating the members of loona and eventually the members of ECLIPSE. due to the fact that their contracts weren’t terminated, they would have one more comeback with THE FAME on january 4th, 2023 before their contracts would officially be terminated and the group would be bought from bbc.

KICK IT 4 NOW is the most recent comeback of ECLIPSE after leaving bbc. with a solar eclipse concept, the song talks about finally being free (hint hint) and introduced a new sound for the group with the more retro style of the choreo, sound, and performances.

[cyberhobi]

chuu leaving bbc like we seen it coming but im not believing one word bbc is saying. they‘re just mad that chuu was establishing a name for herself. Chuu didnt get paid for any of her side gigs, bbc got all the money. And they have the audacity to kick her out and spread lies. Chuu is literally the kindest sweetest person & received so much abuse from bbc. my heart breaks for chuu, im v happy so many who worked with chuu are on her side. loona is still 12 and i hope the rest will be able to leave bbc soon

[chuuuvi]

Cyn's Top 10 Kpop Songs of 2023

Yes I know this is late but it's still January so who cares. I'm limiting this to korean title tracks and prerelease singles. Perhaps I'II make one for my favorite b-sides later. Alright lets go!

10. Lit by Stayc - I'll admit this one is kind of a sneak. I didn't even really get this song until this month. When I got it though I got it HARD. I think I listened to it on repeat for an hour straight. Do I actually think it's better than Teddy Bear and Bubble? Maybe not but I do think I like it the most. It's so brain scratchy!

9. Rising by TripleS - What a great song to be the group's official debut! I can really tell that they're Loona's little sister group in this song. Not that it sounds exactly like a Loona song but it has all these little moments where I can hear it. Probably because its a jaden jeong + monotree joint. Anyway it's a really good song and the chorus hits hard.

8. Perfume by NCT Dojaejung - My sister described this as a strut song which is so accurate. This song makes you feel like THAT BITCH. It's super smooth and sexy and really really good. Interesting vibe from NCT (That being said l'm a sticker defender so believe me I have nothing against the NCT sound)

7. Air Force One by Odd Eye Circle - The return of oec fully rocked my world. I was ranting and raving about the loonaverse implications of this song / mv / mini album for days. It's also just a really cool song! Daradaradadada~

6. Giddy by Kep1er - my babies!! Their best title track since Wadada. Also the dance is adorable. I immediately taught myself the chorus choreo. I'm incredibly biased towards these girls so I was tempted to put this higher but I held myself back.

5. Zero by New Jeans - Now I know what you're thinking, "Why tf is that your new jeans entry?" and "That's literally a coca cola ad. What's wrong with you?" This is my list though and Zero was legitimately my top kpop song on my spotify wrapped. I listened to it an ungodly number of times. It has like a weird hypnotic effect on me so I listen to it while I study.

4. Kick It 4 Now by The New Six - My top boy group jam of the year. Again shout out to my bg stan sister to putting me onto this. She truly keeps me in the loop in that regard. Pure happiness in a song it's SOOO FUN!

3. Queencard by (G)I-dle - Must every song be deep? Can't we all just have a silly girly time? My boob and booty hot!! In all seriousness though I think Jeon Soyeon is a genius. Ya'll might think her lyrics are weird but you just don't understand her like me. This is the song on this list that I think will have the most lasting impact. We'll all be looking back fondly on Queencard.

2. Underwater by Chuu - Underwater feels like a breath of fresh air to listen to. This song is so comforting; Chuu's voice is like a hug. It for real makes me emotional. It's so Taeyeon coded which is an incredibly good thing in my book.

1. Unforgiven by Lesserafim - This was my anthem of the year no question. I don't know if Lesserafim will ever be able to top this. It's just flawless. Potentially my favorite kpop album of the year all together too. Idec that half of it is songs we've already heard. I love having greatest hits in one place and Lesserafim's greatest hits are really good!

A Bunch of Honorable Mentions: In Bloom by ZB1 (just barely missed the list. They're the boys to watch right now), Madeline by Limelight, Memories by Riize, We Are Young by Tri.be, I Am by IVE (another close one), Bubble by Stayc, Invincible and Girls Capitalism by Triple S (they had a great year), OMG by New Jeans, Bite Me by Enhypen (I actually went to a kpop dance class where we learned this choreo), Fighting by BSS, One and Only by Boynextdoor (naturally snatch-ed!!), Bad News by Kiss of Life

[djxiao]

Thoughts on Chuu being kicked out of Loona + some 'kind' words for BBC?

my thoughts are that anyone who played a part in the decision to expel chuu for speaking up against mistreatment and not getting paid for her work can get hit by a truck :) ok my real thoughts on the matter are i kinda saw it coming that they would officially kick her out soon because she’s effectively been kicked out already with the way the company was excluding her from the tour and cb. but the fact that they tried to twist the narrative to make her seem like the villain is so pathetic and cowardly. i KNOW she will find success wherever she goes and do more than anything i hope she finds a company who will treat her with the respect and decency that she deserves. and i hope the other girls refuse to re-sign when the time comes

[juanitasupreme]

BBC kicked chuu out of loona. Saying she was having bad behavior towards the staff. Im calling bull shit. The second Chuu decided to file a lawsuit against BBC about overworking her is the second they started to punish her. Not allowing her to go on tour with the other members, not allowing her to travel with members during promotions, exclude her from members activities, etc. They have been punishing her for the last year. And now they are kicking her out.

They are truly nasty for making up the power trips allegations, just to taint her with the general public... BBC have been acting terrible with the girls and mostly with Chuu. All her works and not seeing 1c is disgusting. I hope the company go bankrupt honestly.

[jovoy]

nooooooooooooooooo i cant believe bbc actually kicked chuu from loona this is my worst nightmare like ive been waking up every day for the past few months kind of expecting to see it happen but now that it has its devastating

[sollucets]

for @hoppipolla , two music tags in one shot

🎶Rules: You can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. Put your (i used my spotify on repeat) playlist on shuffle and list the first ten songs, and then tag ten people. No skipping!

🎶Rules: When you get this, list 5 songs you’ve been listening to & tag people.

i made a 15-song playlist in that order (e.g. first my on-repeat playlist shuffle and then five curated) containing:

เปลี่ยนคะแนนเป็นแฟนได้ไหม (LOVE SCORE) / sizzy & nanon (this song is so annoying. i love it. tattoo it on my bones)

เบื่อคนขี้เบื่อ (i’m not boring, you’re just bored / tilly birds (only friends mental real estate shutdown)

ghosting / tomorrow by together

WUSYANAME / tyler the creator & youngboy never broke again & ty dolla sign

SoulMate / zico & iu

IF YOU PRAY RIGHT / brockhampton (im on a ‘ginger’ kick again recently. what can i say i love that album)

blue wave / nct dream (continuing tradition of me loving all water-related nct songs. dive into you is my favorite nct song ever. this one is so summery & fun)

へでもねーよ (lasa edit) / fujii kaze (the only english translations i can find have ‘hedemo ne-yo’ as “I DONT GIVE A FART” which is. uh. actually its perfect never change)

bite me / enhypen (i think they maybe shouldve waited to release this one until all their members were older than 18 so i dont feel so weird about it. buuut. its so good. so so good.)

โต๊ะริม (melt) / nont tanont (wayv released a cover of this a bit back, which is why i know it, and its just so nice. harmonies 🥰)

leave me alone / i don’t know how but they found me

FOUR / daisy (spotify recommended me this very nearly at random one day. i am not sure what genre it is. it fucks IMMENSELY please listen to it)

dirty dancer / orion sun

dum dum / jeff satur (i was late to actually listening to this song. i got so inundated with mv gifs that i never even watched it. anyway its really good! shocker)

save your tears / the weeknd (but SPECIFICALLY the fluke gawin & aye sarunchana cover, please put it on spotify somehow im begging u gmmtv)

plus four bonuses also from my on repeat because it bothered me how few women were on this list despite that not being my usual demographic makeup:

i love you but i love me more / marina & beach bunny

the perfect pair / beabadoobee

heart attack / loona chuu

save me / mamamoo+

i’m doing this on data from the car so; @catbiodolor? can i convince you to try either of them? its fine if no :)

[kwiyoshi]

彡✎ No Fan Left Behind: K-Pop Stans as Activists for All

Has any fandoms you’re involved in been part of any protest or acts of social activism (e.g. K-pop and Black Lives Matter)?

K-pop: The fandom where fans will take extreme measures to ensure their faves will stay on top. It's honestly shocking what they can do.

As someone who has and is still in the fandom for many years now, I've witnessed some interesting things that K-pop fans have done in terms of protesting and being involved in social activism on different social media platforms. The sort of protesting or social activism involves mainly cancel culture and boycotting. There are already a few instances of this happening in the K-pop community.

Throwback to when Loona stans boycotted their company

Now you guys might be wondering, what is a Loona? Basically, Loona was a Korean girl group that consisted of 12 members that debuted under BlockBerry Creative, an entertainment company (KProfiles 2023). After numerous comebacks, fans of Loona were hit with the sudden news that one of the members, Chuu, was kicked out of the company. This sparked a lot of confusion and rage from fans who were huge fans of hers.

Chuu had requested an injunction in January 2022 to void the terms of her exclusive contract with BlockBerry Creative. She gave several reasons for her request, including unpaid bills, unbalanced accounts, and a loss of confidence (Han 2023). Ultimately, the injunction was approved, and she left the company. Later on, the rest of the members also filed for termination of their contracts with their current company and left the company.

During the whole situation, Loona fans (called Orbits), decided to boycott the company due to the unfairness that the members of Loona faced. On December 8, 2022, the boycott started, and Loona fans were urged not to buy any records, merchandise, concert tickets, or other LOONA-related products. The group's music and videos could not be streamed or played on any platform, and other actions that would benefit BlockBerry Creative were also prohibited (Koreaboo 2023).

Unfortunately, harassment from BlockBerry Creative doesn't seem to be stopping due to the fact that they are always finding ways to sue the members or stop them from performing on stage again.

Either way BlockBerry Creative could not stop them and they ended up debuting in different groups.

K-pop Fancams and Social Activism

If you've been in the K-pop fandom for quite some time, you'd notice that there are a bunch of these fancams that go around on different social media platforms. I personally see them mostly on Twitter. Essentially, fancams are recordings of famous people or public figures that are made and/or shared by fans. On Twitter, they are particularly well-liked by K-Pop fans. Fancams are most frequently recorded during musical performances when idols are typically dancing and will focus on a certain group member (Fanlore n.d.).

You might be wondering; how can fancams tie back to social activism? Well, there are a few instances where fancams were used as a form of protesting or to even block the spread of false information. During the Black Lives Matter Movement, K-pop fans flooded the iWatch Dallas app with fancams of their favorite artists after the Dallas Police Department requested that people use the app to send videos of "illegal activity from the protests" taking place in the city over the weekend which resulted in overloading the reporting system (Alexander 2020).

Here is an example of a fancam of Seulgi from Red Velvet that was used to block out false information by using relevant hashtags on Twitter:

Hashtag Off-Track

Speaking of hashtags, the K-pop fandom has its fair share of derailing the actual meaning of hashtags on Twitter. We've all clicked on a hashtag only to discover that it was littered with posts that had nothing to do with the hashtag at all. The two main causes of this cacophony are either people grandstanding to gain attention for a trending hashtag or reacting indignantly to whatever they believe the hashtag to be about, which only serves to spread misinformation and obscure the real meaning of the hashtag.

An intentional hashtag derailment is less common. However, white supremacists' attempts to make the phrase "white lives matter" a trendy topic inspired K-pop fans to use the phrase against its proponents. Fans worked tirelessly to fill the White Lives Matter hashtag with fancams, music-related tweets, and tweets about others tweeting about music.

Contrarily, "white lives matter" has continued to trend as a topic for days because of the viral success K-pop fans have garnered for this act. It was briefly presented to me on Twitter as a "K-pop" topic, and it even included the hashtag "#WhiteLifeMatter" as a more popular "music" topic (Romano 2020).

Thoughts and Prayers

In short, unknowingly, the K-Pop fandom has definitely left its mark in terms of fighting for causes such as social activism or partaking in protests to protect their favorites by using their fancams and flooding questionable hashtags on Twitter with their fancams as well.

References

Alexander, J 2020, K-pop stans overwhelm app after Dallas police ask for videos of protesters, The Verge, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/1/21277423/k-pop-dallas-pd-iwatch-app-flood-review-bomb-surveillance-protests-george-floyd>.

Fanlore n.d., Fancam, Fanlore, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://fanlore.org/wiki/Fancam>.

Han, S 2023, Court rules in favor of former LOONA member Chuu in exclusive contract lawsuit against BlockBerry Creative, AllKpop, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://www.allkpop.com/article/2023/08/court-rules-in-favor-of-former-loona-member-chuu-in-exclusive-contract-lawsuit-against-blockberry-creative>.

Koreaboo 2023, LOONA Fans’ Boycott Against BlockBerry Creative Shows Signs Of Success — Online Shop Has Been Closed Down, Koreaboo, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://www.koreaboo.com/news/loona-fans-boycott-blockberry-creative-shows-signs-success-online-shop-closed/>.

KProfiles 2023, LOONA Members Profile, KProfiles, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://kprofiles.com/loona-members-profile/>.

Romano, A 2020, How K-pop fans are weaponizing the internet for Black Lives Matter, Vox, viewed 16 October 2023, <https://www.vox.com/2020/6/8/21279262/k-pop-fans-black-lives-matter-fancams-youtubers-protest-support>.

[scortchedtoast]

My Top 15 Kpop Songs of the Year

1. Love Dive- Ive- Like give IVE their tens this was song of the year, mayhaps even song of the decade (getting ahead of myself). The vibes were immaculate and the song is outstanding I even like the dance break which can break a good song if done poorly. 

2. Hype Boy- New Jeans: Like this is really also the song of the year for me, Love Dive triumphs but probably only because it came out earlier. Like this song is immaculate and attention is pretty good too it would be in the 16-20 range of my fave songs of the year.

3. Catch the Star- Woo!ah- They really outdid themselves like this was a masterpiece and such a great way to start the year. I really didn’t think it could be beat for a while and at one point it was higher than Love Dive but its not as replayable as Love Dive. Still a bop tho!

4. DM- Fromis_9- Again the girls were taking no prisoners' at the beginning of the year jan-feb was insane like this is probably my fave fromis_9 song after love bomb of course.

5. Talk that Talk- Twice- Of course the queens had to be here and for their only comeback of the year. Truly I couldn’t have wished for anything more (except a more coherent MV), like the song is good and repayable. They never disappoint and this comeback as well as celebrate was made just so much better by all the members continuing on and re-signing their contract!

6. Smiley- Choi Yena- Another early bop, like it’s so catchy it’s still in my head! Truly a great debut but that’s to be expected from the izone girlies. The only critique is Bibi was so not needed, like it wasn’t bad but Yena defs could cover that part herself and I’m not crazy about a feature being on a debut. And we must thank Yena for holding down yuehua entertainment until everglow come back.

7. Love in Bloom- ILY:1- They are bringing back christian kpop and I have to thank them for it! This song is so refreshing and unique and a bop. The MV and styling were cute and I replayed it so much it just had to make the list. A very solid nugu debut.

8. Run- H1-key- This was the song of the summer for me. It just screams a fun summer like I was a little unsure of the group what with their former members alleged political connections and their debut song but this was spectacular. 

9. Antifragile- Lesserafim- This is probably my most replayed song of the year which is crazy because it literally came out a few months ago lol. Like this is such a good song to workout to they really served. I was worried what they would do post garam kick out and with the success of new jeans it was looking a bit grim for them but they came back swinging. Also their performances are so good and Yunjin I find genuinely funny which is rare in an idol, like they’ve been added to my faves list.

10. Rollarcoaster- Woo!ah- Yep Woo!ah made the list twice and if we extended the list to 20 entries they would make it thrice. Woo!ah had a great year with a comeback at the beginning middle and end of the year all of which were really strong but starting with Catch the Stars and ending with Rollarcoaster is insane like their producer is a genius. I envision this will climb the rankings but since it came later it’s at number 10.

11. Flip That- Loona- I started writing this before the Chuu situation and the potential exodus of the Loona members and man am I bummed out now. The song is good and everything I wanted after the girl crush mess I’ve been force fed for the past two years. Like just a nice chill song for the summer, not their best but super refreshing. (BUT, everyone needs to boycott bbc and not listen on streaming sites and don’t watch their new comeback or interact with the teasers.)

12. After Like- Ive- They also made the list twice this song was a bit boring to me at first but on a second listen its an earworm. Whoever is producing these Ive tracks starship needs to pay them more cause they are excellent.

13. Loveticon- CSR- Giving Christian Kpop Horsegirl vibes as my one anon put it and we need to bring the genre back so I’m glad they’re helping. Ever since gfriend pivoted to whatever apple was the genre has been left behind and its revival and CSR and ILY:1 can do it! Weird group names tho.

14. Higher- Fifty Fifty- this group has a decent concept and I really like that they sing a majority of the chorus and songs together as opposed to in segments like it makes them unique in kpop. A nice chill jam with good vocals what more could anyone else want.

15. Pop- Bugaboo- I liked the song it was fun but this is mainly here because my girls have disbanded and its only right that they make the list for the two years they were active during.

[married-2-the-music]

K-pop Discography Deep Dives: LOONA

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. With that being said, enjoy!

So, here are my credentials: LOONA first appeared on my radar thanks to my Orbit friend, who showed me Paint The Town a few years ago, and while I didn’t know what to think of it the first time, it grew on me, and it’s joined my regular workout playlist. I became an Orbit myself only a few months before they disbanded, due to their great performances on Queendom, and I joined the boycott from when Chuu was kicked out to the present (and may or may not have cried when they were all freed but that’s a story for another time). So, the women of LOONA have a special place in my heart, and obviously, I’m being more harsh than usual because this is a review, after all.

So, as you may (or may not) know, LOONA’s Korean name means Girl Of The Month, since each of the twelve members debuted with a solo in a different month throughout 2016 and 2017, then in sub-groups, and then finally as a full, 12-person group composed of Heejin, Hyunjin, Yeojin, Haseul, Vivi, Kim Lip, Choerry, Jinsoul, Chuu, Yves, Gowon, and Hyeju (formerly known as Olivia Hye). So, I’m going to go in chronological order. Settle in, folks, this’ll be a long one.

Subgroup #1: ⅓ (HeeJin, Hyunjin, Haseul, Yeojin, and Vivi)’s Love & Evil is on the whole a very cinematic and elegant album with highlights being Sonatine and Rain 51Db, that take the best of Haseul’s solo and add a touch of flamenco and a great mix of voices. It also has small spots of brightness like Love & Live thrown in, again giving the early Gfriend energy.

Heejin’s solo, ViViD, is jazzy and upbeat, feeling like a great start; the acoustic version is a bit more interesting: it has a slightly Latin Pop feel with a melancholy guitar. I do like this one, especially the brass, but I don’t like the chorus’ enunciation (which is definitely not the right word). Specifically, the way she says, “I’m like, oh my goodness,” which gets under my skin for no good reason. But otherwise, it’s in the top half of the solos for me.

Hyunjin’s solo, Around You, is more melancholy, but not in as interesting a way as ViVid’s acoustic version, and although her voice is pretty nice, it sounds like a lot of singers. I far prefer the b-side, I’ll Be There, which reminds me of Red Velvet’s Russian Roulette in the choppy, video-game-esque production. Heejin and Hyunjin’s tones work great together, and the song sounds very like the sort of “golden age” of third gen k-pop, and specifically early Gfriend (who’s going to be the next gg I cover, actually).

Haseul’s solo, Let Me In, also follows the trend of melancholy, but unlike Around You, I actually quite like this one. Like my favorite ballads, it distinguishes itself, with the orchestra reminiscent of a ballroom waltz, and Haseul’s powerful but delicate voice, and it feels like the first of LOONA’s songs to be totally unique.

Yeojin’s Kiss Later is peppy and childish, as befits the subject matter and her age. It also has a 50’s / 60’s vibe to it, with the surf rock guitar break and bighearted instrumental bringing some great energy. This one isn’t my favorite, but it definitely has me bopping my head.

Vivi’s Everyday I Love You is good and I do like it, but it’s so similar to a few of the others that I admit I forget about it until it comes up on my playlist. The chorus is great for roller skating though, and I do always sing along.

Subgroup #2, Odd Eye Circle (Kim Lip, Choerry, and Jinsoul)’s Max & Match boasts the excellent track that LOONATIC is (talk about roller skating songs, damn) with its bizarre reverb, a clear departure from ⅓’s ballads and peppiness. Max & Match’s title track, Girl Front, is also odd, with its warped electronic production; other good tracks are Sweet Crazy Love and Chaotic.

Kim Lip’s Eclipse, admittedly, wasn’t my favorite the first time around, which I blame on it being treated like the second coming of Christ, but it is honestly great, and its sleek minimalism soon made it become an earworm for me.

JinSoul’s Singing In The Rain has a sing talk base mixed with electronic music and a slightly deeper voice than the others. The pre-choruses are good but the chorus is a slight let-down with the way it veers into anti-drop territory (which I might not be so annoyed about if it didn’t continue into so much of LOONA’s later work). The b-side Love Letter is great and has a good flow to it.

Choerry’s Love Cherry Motion is basically two different songs, which is the point, but while both are good separately, they just don’t quite gel. Puzzle feels like a better title track to match with the other members of Odd Eye Circle (Kim Lip and Jinsoul), but Love Cherry Motion’s peppier part would feel right at home in ⅓ with the first five solos.

Subgroup #3, Yyxy (Yves, Chuu, Gowon, and Hyeju)’s Beauty & The Beat is the best of the sub group albums, combining the bubbliness of ⅓ and the electro drive of OEC, with a few ballads thrown in there for good measure. Love4eva, the title track, remains stuck in my head on a loop.

Yves’ New is a bit similar to Eclipse, but more upbeat and hopeful. It’s day to night and I like it a lot, but I think it needs a cathartic moment or climax when it just doesn’t have one, although the “always…all my life” comes close. The b-side is fine, but blends in with the rest.

Chuu’s Heart Attack is bubbly and bright and that brightness and youth feel more genuine than in other songs, not coming across as cloying. It’s probably my favorite solo, purely because of the great match between Chuu and the song itself, the inclusivity, and of course, the sheer amount of endorphins.

Gowon’s One And Only also falls into the not-happy, not-sad minimalist electro pop genre, and while it’s not bad, it’s also the same as so many of the others, and doesn’t utilize her vocals the way See Saw does. Overall, it’s…eh

Hyeju’s Egoist is another electropop song, but distinguishes itself with an interesting performance, a whistling hook, and a unique production; Rosy is good, but not great.

And now we reach the full group, almost two years after Heejin’s solo dropped, with the mini album (++) and its title tracks Favorite and Hi High and the repackage album (xx) and its title track Butterfly. Favorite has a good build up, but ends up feeling like what it is: more like a b-side than a title track to me; as with a lot of the b-sides, their vocals aren’t really showcased and the synths are doing the heavy lifting.

Hi High, meanwhile, isn’t representative of the minimalist synth, but is of the other, bubblier, poppier side of their discography, and is best described as a serotonin boost with a gut punch of a high note; overall, not a fixture on my playlist but a welcome listen when it shows up once in a while.

Butterfly is…well, indescribable, but like the top tier of LOONA’s work, its uplifting synth pop will take its time but eventually become an earworm you can’t help but return to; it’s ethereal and balanced in the best way and quite possibly LOONA’s most magical song. It feels almost heavenly, and I don’t say that lightly. As for the b-sides of these albums, the ones that stay in this ethereal category like “Satellite”, “Curiosity” and “Where You At” are almost all good, albeit a bit forgettable.

But now comes (#), and one of the biggest tonal shifts I’ve seen in a discography, with So What arriving like a battering ram. So What has such excellent parts, but just doesn’t quite achieve its goals; it’s just such a drastic change in sound with a great pre-chorus and an especially excellent bridge, but the chorus is a let down of what would be so much more powerful if it lived up to it. I can’t lie though, So What gets my pumped, and I do like it. It lets the singers be angry, which K-pop should lean into more, and in the light of LOONA’s court battle (which they won!), the “Free” at the end never fails to make me emotional.

The shift continues into Why Not? and it’s album 12:00. Why Not? itself is fine but far from their best; it has some of their worst habits (empty choruses, lalala’s, great build-ups with let downs, wasting their best voices, etc). It’s also catchy and I don’t hate it, but I know full well LOONA can do so much better. Voice is great, however; a return to the minimalist synth from the beginning that I admit I complained about, but LOONA does it so well. Unlike many earlier b-sides, it feels like it has drive and ambition, and it uses their voices well.

Paint The Town was actually the first song I heard of LOONA’s, and as I mentioned before, it did grow on me, despite not being my favorite. I far prefer the wuxia inspired Queendom stage of it that made it more interesting and used their voices better. The b-sides of (&) the album, are pretty good, especially WOW (which finally has a full chorus), Dance On My Own (which I wish was longer), and Be Honest (love the clapping).

But after their dynamic performances on Queendom, the next comeback Flip That is just so…nothing, and with it being their last title track, it’s a sad way to end things. The Journey is a good intro and I wish more of it came into the song, because the way it is, it’s so forgettable that I almost forgot to include it. The b-sides aren’t bad (although Pose and its anti drop annoy me, definitely) and Pale Blue Dot is probably my favorite, because I do love a good high note.

After revisiting LOONA’s performances on Queendom for this deep dive, I noticed something: LOONA feels more like SNH48, a dance troupe that sings, than a K-pop group of singers who dance. With the exceptions of a few (Chuu, Kim Lip, Haseul, and Heejin), a lot of their voices don’t feel distinct. That’s not to say that they’re bad, obviously, but they’re fairly standard in the realm of K-pop. Chuu especially has a great voice but it’s very underutilized, which does makes sense given that it’s a group of twelve.

Writing about LOONA is odd because it feels like writing about two totally different groups: the gentler, younger pre-debut years, and the louder, brasher girl-crush post-debut years, after Butterfly. I don’t quite know how to do a ranking, so I split it in two: my top 5 solos and my top 5 after debut. My top 5 solos are Heart Attack, New, Eclipse, Egoist, and Let Me In. My top 5 after debut are Butterfly, Star, Dance On My Own, Pale Blue Dot, and So What. Overall, LOONA gets an 8.25/10 from me, similar to (G)I-DLE. But where (G)I-DLE takes risks that either really pay off or really don’t, much of LOONA’s music takes the safe, expected route, and it all ends up in the middle—good but not fantastic. A lot of this, I think, can be attributed to the fact that, when under Blockberry, LOONA didn’t get to have much input in the creative process. I hope that wherever the girls’ careers take them, they’ll get a chance to be more involved, and I’ll be watching Loosemble’s debut on Friday.

So, see you next time, for a (hopefully less long) boy group!

[ggidolsmuts]

Quick Question. What is your opinion towards the piece of news about Chuu being kicked out of Loona? Do you feel that Blockberry Creative is a piece of shit for claiming the fact that it was Chuu's fault because she was absuive to the staff? #justiceforchuu

Eh I'll post a condensed take and then delve into it in the Keep Reading. Short take is: What happens to Chuu and what Chuu does doesn't matter, the main goal of this play is contract negotiation/intimidation for the remaining members they want to keep.

Chuu doesn't matter in this play, they've treated her as if she's gone, and they're just keeping her around for extra money (Note that they only kicked her from the group, not terminated her contract).

Why do I say this? If this is character assassination specifically against Chuu, they should have done it WAY earlier, like when she was trying to negotiate breaking the exclusivity of her BBC contract, that would've given them way more leverage there.

As for a lawsuit? They won't mind, cost of doing business, they'll point to one instance of Chuu doing something that can be interpreted as abusive (ie. "her eating disorder affects the staff too!" "she lashed out this one time (never mind that she apologized later)" etc.) and justify it. Even if it doesn't come out in their favor, it'll be a fine at worst.

In that vid from her fanmeeting, she seem to knew that something was coming, so it is clear that it is planned and based on timing, and what is coming? Contract renewal.

Vivid came out in 2016, 2023 is the 7th year, so contracts are likely due for renewal. I think everyone signed at the same time (EDIT: Not yyxy, since apparently they weren’t in the company when Vivid came out. I think at least 1/3 was signed together, maybe OEC too) and is due for renewal, because they have the whole "one girl a month" schtick. It would've been a clusterfuck if they are filming, let's say Jinsoul, and then Gowon suddenly decides she doesn't want to sign the contract, how do you find someone else on such short notice? So it is likely that as a group they all signed in 2016.

I think they want to keep a few members and drop the rest. So this statement against Chuu is to say, "If you don't sign this contract, we'll either: 1. Kick YOU out with something like this, or 2. Kick the other members we don't want with something like this, and it's because of you."

Chuu has goodwill and her own influence and will probably be fine, the other members? Not a lot. If they are kicked under unprovable circumstances (like Chuu's "abuse"), no company will bother picking them up, because it's likely too risky with no proven results in 7 years. This ends their K-pop career.

So yeah, I'd keep an eye out for similar statements for other members from BBC, along with some random scandal attached.

EDIT: Forgot to respond to your question, yeah BBC is a piece of shit, but they’re a business, they’re designed to be pieces of shit to make money, not particularly surprised there.